Holdback.



W. A. HAGERMAN.

HOLDBAOK. APPLICATION FILED IBB.24, 1911.

1,022,626. Patented Apr. 9, 1912.

WITN ESSES ATTORN EY WILLIAM ALEXANDER HAGERMAN, OF LONDON,

ONTARIO, CANADA, AssIGNon. 0F

ONE-HALF TO WESLEY J. HILL, OF LONDON, CANADA.

HOLDIBAGK.

es 32sec.

Application filed February 24, 1911.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that 1, WILLIAM A. HAGER- MAN, asubject of the King of Great Britain, residing at London, in the countyof MiddleseX and Province of Ontario, Canada, have invented a new anduseful Holdback, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to new and useful improvements in the constructionof the attachments to the shafts of a vehicle and to the harnessordinarily termed holdbacks by means of which buckles, snaps, and thecumbersome wrapping of the shafts is obviated, and an easily attachedand auto matically detached holdback is provided.

The principal object of my invention is to provide a lioldbackconstruction so connected to the harness and shafts of a vehicle, thatupon the unhitching of the traces and the leading of the draft animalfrom the shafts, the latter will not be permitted to drop to the grounduntil after the holdback has been disengaged from the shafts.

Another and important object is to provide a holdback constructionattached to the top side of a shaft and connected to the harness in sucha manner that the breeching will be held in a straight line'above theshafts and not permitted to sag and chafe the flank of the draft animal.

With these and other objects in view, my invention consists in theconstruction and novel combination of parts hereinafter fully described,illustrated in the accompanying drawing, and pointed out in the claimshereto appended; it being understood that various changes in the form,proportion, size and minor details of construction, within the scope ofthe appended claims, may be resorted to without departing from thespirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of this invention.

In the drawing :-Figure 1 represents a side view of my improvement asconnected to one of a pair of vehicle shafts, and showing the parts innormal position for operation. Fig. 2 is a similar view to Fig. 1, butshowing the holdback attachment detached from the shaft and the shafttug still engaging the end of the shaft. Fig. 3 is a top plan view ofthe slotted holdback iron attached to the shaft. Fig. 4 is alongitudinal section of the holdback iron, showing the strap-carryingslide in dotted lines. Fig. 5

define a longitudinal Specification of Letters Patent.

Serial No. 610,533.

is a section on the line 55 of Fig. 4. Fig. 6 is a perspective view ofthe strap-carrying slide detached.

Similar characters of reference refer to similar parts throughout theseveral views.

The holdback comprises an elongated plate 7 of any suitable metal,formed with a longitudinally disposed off-set chamber or pocket 8,projecting outwardly from said plate, and terminating short of the endsthereof, thus providing ears or extended Patented Apr. 9, 1912.

fiat portions 9 at each end of the plate beyond the pocket or chamber,said ears having openings through which suitable fastening means areinserted to attach the said. plate to the upper side ofa shaft 10.

The chamber or pocket 8 is composed of opposite side walls 5 and an endwall 6, the said side walls being turned inwardly toward each other butspaced apart so as to slot 11. This slot is closed at its rear end bythe end wall 6, and is open at the front end 12, facing the front end ofthe shafts. At the front end the .slot is provided with beveled orflared edges, which facilitate the insertion of a slide block 14. Theslide block 14: is preferably oblong in shape and is provided on theopposite sides thereof with longitudinal grooves 15, which permit it,after it shall have been introduced into the open end 12, to be slidalong the slot 11. The inwardly turned edges of the walls of thevchamber engage with the grooves and preclude the removal of the slideblock, except through the open end 12. The slide block is furtherprovided on its upper face with an upstanding U-shaped loop or eye 16,to one side or arm of which is connected the holdback strap 17, and tothe other side or arm is attached a short draw strap 18, which connectsthe slide block with the back band from which depends the shaft loop orstrap 19, sup-porting the front end of the shaft.

The underside of the slide block lt is beveled as at 13 at each end,providing an easy contact with a fiat retaining spring 20, when the saidblock is inserted in the slot 11. The spring 20 is located within thechambered portion of the plate, and is held in position at the open endthereof by the same fastening means that secures the plate to the shaft.The spring is a little wider than the slot 11 so as to avoid projectingout of the slot, the said spring extending the full length of the slotin an upwardly inclined direction until it touches the inner side of thetop of the chamber near the closed end of the slot, and is then bentdownwardly so as to bear at its free end 21 against the shaft.

The slide block 14: which is carried by straps 17 and 18, is inserted inthe slot 11 of the chambered plate, and the beveled lower edge of theblock contacts with the spring 20 and as the block is forced toward theclosed end of the slot, pressure will be put on the top face of thespring and the latter will be pressed down as indicated in dotted lines(Fig. 4). The pressure of the spring against the block, when the latterreaches the position shown in dotted lines, Fig. 4, causes the block tofrictionally bind in the walls of the slot, but at the same time, theblock may be easily extracted by a forward pull on the draw strap 18.

To provide for automatically disengaging the hold-back strap 17 andslide block 14 from the chambered plate attached to the shafts, when thehorse is unhitched and led forward, I haveconnected the front end of thehold-back strap 17 with one side of the loop or eye 16, and the otherside of the loop or eye 16 with the shaft loop 19 by a short connectingdraw strap 18, whereby it is obvious that when the traces of the harness are disengaged and the horse is led forward, the slide block 14will receive a clirect pull from the shaft 18 and be drawn out of theslot 11 of the plate 7, before the thill supporting loop or strap 19leaves the end of the shaft. This operation is clearly shown in Fig. 2of the drawing. While the particular construction of the chambered platehas been specified and is regarded as possessing sufficient novelty tobe included in the claims, it is obvious that I should not be limited tothe exact construction of this part, for the principal feature of myinvention-resides in the connection of both the holdback strap and thedraw strap to the loop on the slide block, whereby the opera tionhereinbefore described is permitted to take place.

It will be noted that the spring 20, which bears against the undersideof the slide block, imparts a frictional resistance to the movement ofsaid block from its normal or retracted position, as shown in Fig. 4.The strap 18 is so adjusted that its length is less than the distancefrom the outer end of the plate 7 to the end of the shaft.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desireto secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination of an elongated guide plate adapted to be attached tothe shaft of a vehicle and having its guide open at its front end andclosed at its rear end, a slide ilock mounted and movable in said plateand removable fro-1n the open front end of the guide by sliding itlongitudinally and forwardly of the shaft, means for providing africtional resistance to the forward movement of said block from itsnormal position at the rear closed end of the guide plate, a holdbackstrap, a draw strap, a back band, and a shaft loo-p or tug, means forconnecting the front end of the draw strap to the back band, and meansfor con necting the inner ends of both the holdback strap and the drawstrap to the slide block so that the latter is carried by both straps,the length of the draw strap being less than the distance between thefront end of the guide of the guide plate and the front end of theshaft.

2. The combination of a chambered and slotted plate adapted to beattached to the upper side of the shaft of a vehicle and open at itsfront end and closed at its rear end, a slide block adapted to slide insaid slot-ted plate and removable through the open end thereof bysliding it longitudinally of the shaft, a vertically disposed rigid loopor eye attached to and projecting from the upper side of said slideblock, a holdback strap connected to the rear side of said loop or eye,a draw strap connected to the front side of said loopor eye, a backband, a shaft loop or tug, means for connecting the draw strap at itsfront end tothe back band, the distance between the open front end ofthe plate and the front end of the shaft being greater than the lengthof the draw strap, whereby the said slide block will be disengaged fromthe said plate before the shaft loop is disconnected from the end of theshaft.

In testimony, that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have heretoaflixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM ALEXANDER HAGERMAN.

Witnesses:

LEONARD C. JARVIS, J 0s. DERTINGER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. 0-

